Daybreak

The point in the morning when daylight first becomes visible.

Reach for it when giving an early-morning time a fresh or quietly hopeful feeling

The field station opened its shutters at daybreak.

• playful

  sunup

  when an informal regional voice suits the sentence

  not when Its colloquial flavor can distract in formal or international writing.

• everyday

  dawn

  when either the first light or a figurative beginning may be intended

  not when Dawn is more poetic and broader; daybreak is specifically the morning event.

• everyday

  morning

  when a broad, familiar period is precise enough

  not when Morning covers several hours and cannot pinpoint daybreak.

• everyday

  sunrise

  when the sun itself appearing above the horizon matters

  not when The sky can reach daybreak before the sun becomes visible.

• literary

  first light

  when the faintest useful light guides the timing

  not when It may refer to a light level rather than the named transition into day.

• nightfall
• dusk
• midnight

• at daybreak

  At daybreak, the rescue party resumed its climb.

• before daybreak

  Owls were still calling shortly before daybreak.

• until daybreak

  The lantern remained in the window until daybreak.